“We would certainly like to see how GDPR settles before you try and lock down the text of ePrivacy.” That was the simple advice from Bruce Gustafson, Alliance CEO, on the timing of the ePrivacy debate in Brussels.

Gustafson was one of several industry leaders that spoke with the National Journal’s Brendan Bordelon for a piece titled “Tech Firms Brace for Salvo of European Privacy Rules”. The Journal’s take on GDPR and ePrivacy from its interviews: “...a one-two punch that could upend established business models, inadvertently frustrate consumers, and stifle innovation in both Europe and the United States.”

The European legislation is part of a trend Gustafson is highlighting as the EU seeks to export its take on privacy to a US market lacking its own regulations.

"We need to try to figure out how to deal with privacy in the U.S.,” Gustafson said. “Because if we don’t, we’re going to be operating under a European regime, which in a lot of ways is inconsistent with what the Constitution would provide here.”